This project is part of the Black History Month celebration because it supports a Black teacher or a school where the majority of the students are Black.
I believe that vampires are vital to my students’ success. I teach at a high-poverty charter middle school in DC with a large ESL population. Most of our students are behind grade level in math and reading. Every day, we work to get these students not only caught up, but on their way to college and a successful life after college. Critical to their success is developing a love of reading. This year, I have been amazed to discover that the key to encouraging that love of reading is vampires.
Yes, vampires. My 7th-grade students are crazy about them. No, not the Twilight vampires; don’t be silly. Why read about angsty, lovestruck vampires when you could be reading about the freaky, creepy adventures of Darren Shan? He’s a normal kid who becomes a half-vampire in the first book of the Cirque du Freak series of books. From there, he becomes a vampire’s assistant, has adventures with a telepathic spider, a wolfman, and a snake boy, and eventually becomes a key player in the epic vampire war, the War of the Scars.
The kids are tearing through these books. Girls, boys, bookworms, reluctant readers, stronger readers, weaker readers: everybody loves Cirque du Freak. Our classroom copies of the books are a hot commodity – as soon as one kid finishes a book, another kid snatches it up. They’re not just reading it during our designated independent reading time; they’re also picking it up the instant they finish their classwork and have a free moment. I have to beg them to put the books away when it’s time to move on to other things in class.
Cirque du Freak is a series of 12 books. We only have the first two. Watching some of my kids read these two books, it is the first time I have seen them get excited about a book and be completely absorbed by reading. It’s a joy to see. I would love to be able to take advantage of my students’ enthusiasm and give them the opportunity to read the entire series. Your donation will help my students continue their love affair with vampires and, more importantly, keep them reading.
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